SMM Weekly Review on Scrap Copper Consumption Advantages (Mar. 4-8)

SHANGHAI, Mar. 12 (SMM) –The US dollar index gradually advanced above 82 last week as the US automatic spending cut began surprisingly, which pushed copper futures down further. Nevertheless, scrap copper prices exhibited more resilience than refined copper inasmuch as scrap copper imports decreased sharply at the beginning of the year and tightened domestic supply. Against this backdrop, the price gap between scrap and refined copper shrank further to RMB 400-600/mt, indicating scrap copper had no price advantage versus refined copper. Downstream consumers thus expressed low interest in purchasing scrap copper.